Chevron Australia has entered a new natural gas supply agreement with South32’s Worsley Alumina business, reinforcing the importance of reliable energy supplies to Australia’s alumina refining industry. The deal will support operations at the Western Australian facility, where energy availability remains central to mineral processing and industrial activity. Under the contract, Chevron will supply natural gas to South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd from 1 January 2028. The arrangement continues a longstanding commercial relationship between the companies, with the fuel allocated to the alumina producer’s processing requirements. Explore the production, demand and consumption forecasts of bauxite and alumina in our report: " Global Bauxite & Alumina Market Forecast to 2036: Supply–Demand, Trade...
Rio Tinto and Rondo Energy have commenced front-end engineering and design for a 30 MW/360 MWh thermal energy storage project at the Yarwun alumina refinery near Gladstone, Queensland, marking a potential milestone in the use of heat batteries to reduce emissions from alumina refining. The Rondo Heat Battery will store energy as high-temperature heat in refractory bricks and supply continuous process heat to support Rio Tinto’s alumina refining operations. If progressed, the project would be one of the first large-scale demonstrations of thermal energy storage for industrial process heat globally and a world-first for the alumina industry. Heat batteries target round-the-clock industrial demand Australia regularly experiences four to six hours of surplus solar-generated renewable...
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The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) has announced the launch of a roadmap to maximise the use of bauxite residue in cement and concrete products. The roadmap includes information that addresses concerns, prejudices, technical and legislative barriers to bauxite residue use. Katy Tsesmelis Director – Refining & Safety at the IAI said: “Global metallurgical alumina production is forecasted to increase from 124 million tonnes in 2019 to 178 million tonnes by 2040. As alumina production increases so too will the production of bauxite residue (BR), which is generated by the extraction of alumina from bauxite during the Bayer process. As an industry, we are committed to finding solutions to minimise the social, environmental and economic impacts of bauxite residue.” The six key pathways...
Hydro announced that its official sponsorship of the 38th edition of ICSOBA. The event, one of the largest Bauxite & Alumina trade events in the world, will take place online from November 16 to 18. The public can visit exhibition stands, download technical material, access virtual meeting rooms, all to the integration among researchers, engineers, suppliers, manufacturers, and students. ICSOBA 2020 (The International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium) will address developments in health, environment and safety fields, as well as research focused on production and cost improvements. The trade show also discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global perspectives of the bauxite, alumina, and aluminium industries. "The event is a recognized space for...
The alumina production in Iran has recorded with a 4% rise during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-October 21), compared to the same phase of time in the previous year. Iran Alumina Company in the north-eastern province of North Khosaran is the only alumina refinery of the country. During the first seven months, the refinery produced 139,307 tonnes of alumina. Concurrently, the monthly alumina production in the seventh month of this year reached 17,616 tonnes, which illustrates a rise of 6% from the figure for the same month in the previous year. The geological exploration studies performed in Jajarm bauxite mines, located 10 kilometres to the northeast of Jajarm, in North Khorasan Province, indicate that the quantity and quality of Jajarm bauxite are...
King River Resources Ltd, an Australian mining company has successfully trialled its new high purity alumina (HPA) process route using alternative aluminium chemical feedstocks. Metallurgical test work is currently underway on both this new precursor and the Speewah precursor to delivering a 4N HPA product at 99.99% pure alumina. 4N HPA is used in a wide range of emerging technologies from mobile phones and LED lighting to lithium-ion batteries. The major outcome from King River’s state-of-art test work is that the “KRR processing route” can be used on a variety of feedstocks which will permit a processing facility to establish and operate as a stand-alone facility apart from the proposed mining operation at Speewah. King River is presently examining at the feasibility of constructing a...
Chalco’s Huasheng alumina refinery at Fangchenggang Port in Guangxi has begun operations on its second production line, which will add 1 million tonnes per annum of alumina capacity to an already oversupplied market, said sources to Fastmarkets on Monday, November 9. “I heard their second operation line was ready for production and they began putting raw material into the newly-built operation line in late October,” said one market participant familiar with the update. With the beginning of operations on Huasheng’s second production line, the refinery is estimated to reach 100,000 tonnes of output this month, said sources. Huasheng refinery came online in August 2020 and started trial production at one of its two production lines on September 10, following securing a license for a...
According to the Shanghai Metals Market, China’s alumina production in October 2020 came in at 6.16 million tonnes, including 5.95 million tonnes of metallurgical-grade alumina. This marked an increase of 4.23 per cent from 5.91 million tonnes of output in September 2020. The average daily output in October climbed 1 per cent month-on-month from 189,000 tonnes to 192,000 tonnes. On a yearly basis, the daily output was up by 5.95 per cent. The total production of metallurgical-grade alumina in the first ten months of 2020 amounted to 55.74 million tonnes 3.23 per cent lower over the year. As of early October, the operating capacity of metallurgical-grade alumina stood at 68.85 million tonnes per year. SMM expects the production of metallurgical-grade alumina to decline in November 2020 at...
The Jamaican economy is hugely dependent on services, which accounts for more than 70% of GDP. The country derives most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The FocusEconomics panellists see the economy contracting 6.4% in 2020, before growing 3.3% in 2021, which is up 0.2% points from last month's projection. The Bauxite rich Caribbean nation’s export of alumina during 2018-19 stood at 42,95,384 tonnes and revenue earnings accounted towards the export remained to $1.194 billion. The export for 2020 is expected to reach at 19,45,386 tonnes and earnings to stand at $566.60 million. Now, when the export volume and earnings for 2020 gets assorted with the existing two years, it unveils 62,40,770 tonnes and $1.761 billion respectively. Jamaica’s export of...
AEM Canada Group Inc. has reportedly announced that the design problems with its Cap Chat Plant’s Fluidized Bed Roaster and Calciner have been resolved successfully, while adding that commissioning ramp-up to the current design of 900 tpa High Purity Alumina (HPA) will continue for the rest of the year. AEM Canada has been refurbishing the Cap Chat plant since the past six months after acquiring it from Orbite Technologies Inc in April 2020. The engineering shortcomings in in the Fluidized Bed Roaster and Calciner are now rectified that were previously causing the plant to fail repeatedly. AEM Canada has also successfully completed post treatment of its HPA product in German trials to produce a very tight particle size distribution of superfine HPA in the range of 0.5 to 0.7 micron range....
Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner, is reportedly investing $51 million in upgrading facilities at its Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Quebec, Canada. According to the report, three new energy efficient buildings are under construction. Besides, existing facilities will be revamped with a centralised control room, offices, and common areas. The project is expected to be completed in early 2021, aiming to improve employee safety and optimise operations at the Saguenay region’s plant built in 1936. Two year ago, Rio promised to invest C$250 million to extend the life of the operation past 2022, including the construction of a filtration plant on site to manage bauxite waste. The plant will also make cement out of the smelting process leftover to promote circular economy initiatives,...
As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average spot alumina price in China has decreased by RMB 10 per tonne on Friday, 30 October 2020 to stand at RMB 2280 per tonne, after remaining flat at 2290 per tonne since October 29. Alumina price in Shandong has declined by RMB 10 per tonne to stand at RMB 2275 per tonne. The prices of alumina in Henan, Shanxi, Guizhou, Guangxi China markets have slipped by RMB 10 per tonne each to stand at RMB 2280 per tonne, RMB 2270 per tonne, RMB 2305 per tonne and RMB 2310 per tonne on Friday, 30 October 2020. SMM aluminium ingot price has ended the week higher at RMB 14830 per tonne on Friday, 30 October 2020, marking a growth of RMB 120 per tonne. The price is expected to range at RMB 14810-14850 per tonne. In Foshan and Wuxi, the price has risen by RMB 90...
North America’s alumina production stood 18 per cent lower year-on-year to 199,000 tonnes in September 2020. The output in September 2019 was 243,000 tonnes. On a month-on-month comparison, the production declined by 16 per cent from August’s production of 238,000 tonnes. In the first nine months of 2020, alumina output totalled 1.987 million tonnes, from 2.186 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, according to the latest data showed by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). This marked a decrease of 9 per cent year-on-year. South America’s alumina production reduced by 20 per cent year-on-year to 743,000 tonnes in September 2020. On a month-on-month basis, the output inched down by 21 per cent from August’s production of 946,000 tonnes. The output of alumina increased...
According to the latest data released by the International Aluminium Institute, alumina production in West Europe declined by 11.09 per cent month-on-month in September 2020 to amount to 433,000 tonnes. In August, production in West Europe was 487,000 tonnes, increasing by 10,000 tonnes or 2.1 per cent from 477,000 tonnes in July 2020. On a year-on-year calculation, West Europe’s alumina production in September 2020 was down by 11.45 per cent from 489,000 tonnes in September 2019. In the third quarter of 2020 (July-September), alumina production in West Europe totalled 1.397 million tonnes, a decrease of 1.69 per cent from 1.421 million tonnes in Q2 2020. On a year-on-year basis, production in Q3 2020 stood down by 3.8 per cent from 1.452 million tonnes during the same period last year....
The average alumina spot price in China has recorded a dip of RMB 4 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,290 per tonne on Wednesday, October 28, according to the Shanghai Metals Market data. In Henan, alumina price is standing at RMB 2,290 per tonne as well but by declining RMB 10 per tonne from the previous day. In other Chinese cities, the price has remained restrained. Imported alumina price and Australian Alumina FOB price have also remained muted at RMB 2,310 per tonne and US$ 277 per tonne, respectively, as of October 28. A00 aluminium ingot price has declined sharply by RMB 140 per tonne to stand at RMB 14,740 per tonne on October 28, found the SMM data. The average prices are expected to range between RMB 14,720 per tonne and RMB 14,760 per tonne, with spot contract to be traded at a...
The world alumina production in the third quarter of 2020 improved by 1.37 per cent quarter-on-quarter from 32.935 million tonnes to 33.386 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the International Aluminium Institute. On a year-on-year basis, the output in Q3 found almost flat compared with 33.268 million tonnes. In September, the world alumina production was 10.717 million tonnes, down by 6.02 per cent from 11.404 million tonnes in August. On a year-on-year calculation, the output in September inched down by 1.12 per cent from 10.838 million tonnes. In China, alumina production during September was 5.855 million tonnes, 3.22 per cent lower than 6.050 million tonnes month-on-month but flat compared with 5.880 million tonnes during the same period last year. In Q3,...
The mining and metal Group Rio Tinto was highly inspired by the reduction of the environmental impact by the agricultural and food sector. Now by investing C$250 million in the commissioning of a bauxite residue filtration and optimization plant at its Vaudreuil alumina refinery in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, the metal giant is promoting the circular economy. The food industry, chiefly in winemaking filter presses are widely used and to reduce its ecological footprint, Rio Tinto has equipped itself with four 85-ton presses fitted with plates with hydraulic pressure to compress and revalorize the bauxite residues from the production of alumina. These residues, which take the form of potting soil or compost, must be dried before their storage and recovery. This drying process took up to...
As updated by Shanghai Metals Market, average spot alumina price in China has decreased by RMB 7 per tonne to stand at RMB 2294 per tonne on Friday, 23 October 2020, after declining by RMB 5 per tonne on October 22. The prices of alumina in Shanxi, Guizhou, and Guangxi China markets have dropped by RMB 10 per tonne, RMB 25 per tonne and RMB 10 per tonne to stand at RMB 2280 per tonne, RMB 2315 per tonne and RMB 2320 per tonne on Friday, 23 October 2020. Alumina prices in Shandong and Henan have remained unchanged at RMB 2285 per tonne and RMB 2300 per tonne. Alumina (Imported) price has declined to RMB 2310 per tonne on October 23, representing a drop of RMB 10 per tonne. The average price is expected to move within a range of RMB 2300-2320 per tonne. A00 aluminium ingot price has inched...
The average alumina spot price in China has recorded a drop of RMB 5 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,301 per tonne on Thursday, October 22, after remaining restrained last day, found the Shanghai Metals Market,. In Shanxi, the price has declined by RMB 10 per tonne to come in at RMB 2,290 per tonne, while its average prices are expected to range between RMB 2,280 per tonne and RMB 2,300 per tonne. In Shandong and Henan, however, the price has remained restrained at RMB 2,285 per tonne and RMB 2,300 per tonne, respectively. In Guangxi and Guizhou, the average alumina price has decreased by RMB 15 per tonne and RMB 5 per tonne to stand at RMB 2,330 per tonne and RMB 2,340 per tonne, respectively. China’s imported alumina price has slid by RMB 10 per tonne to RMB 2,320 per tonne, while the price...
Rio Tinto expects its 2020 shipment outlook for Alumina to improve by 0.2 million tonnes to between 13.8 to 13.9 million tonnes on improved production levels. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the company expects lower sequential quarterly results primarily from higher energy costs and a change in the mix of customer shipments in the Alumina segment. Rio Tinto’s alumina production in the third quarter of 2020 was 7% higher than the same period of 2019 on higher production at both Pacific refineries, considering a planned major shutdown at Yarwun during the quarter. Alumina production stood at 1.954 million tonnes in Q3. The 2020 shipment outlook for Bauxite and Aluminum remain unchanged from the prior full-year estimates. Total annual bauxite shipments are expected to range between 48.0 and...
